CNN — (CNN) — As the ongoing system outage at software provider CDK Global enters its second week, auto dealerships are suffering millions of dollars in losses, according to a new estimate.
Workers across the U.S. auto industry told CNN that the software outage, which the company said was caused by a cyberattack, has made it difficult for dealers to track customer interactions, orders and sales, affecting their ability to earn a living.
“This is going to impact payroll here,” said Bernard Irvin, a salesman at a Ford dealership in Greenville, South Carolina. “Why shouldn’t I get my normal wage? I don’t really understand what this is about.”
Workers’ concerns highlight how a cyberattack – even one targeting something as insignificant as data collection and scheduling software – can cripple an entire industry.
According to an estimate by the Anderson Economic Group, if CDK’s system outage lasted three full weeks, it could result in approximately $944 million in direct losses from business interruption for affected auto dealers.
Piecemeal progress
The outage began last Wednesday, according to CDK, after two cyber incidents crippled the systems of the company, which supplies software to nearly 15,000 auto dealerships across North America.
In a statement on Friday, the company said it was making progress in bringing some merchants back online. The company had previously said it did not expect the problem to be fully resolved until July.
“We have successfully brought two small dealer groups and one large publicly traded dealer group onto the Dealer Management System (DMS). We are also actively working to bring additional applications – including our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and service solutions – as well as our Customer Care channels live,” said a CDK spokesperson. “We understand and share the urgency for our customers to return to normal business operations and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”
Dozens of automotive retail workers expressed concern about the impact of the power outage on their livelihoods.
“I work at a large auto body shop and it really hurt us,” one worker wrote to CNN about the outage. “I don’t know how we’re going to get paid.”
“It will have an impact on payroll”
Norm Phillips, 71, has worked as an auto parts delivery driver at a Mercedes-Benz dealership and a Honda dealership in New Jersey for over 21 years.
Since the defect at CDK, he has not been able to work at all. It was not clear to the dealers which parts needed to be delivered.
“When I asked my boss if we were still being paid, he didn’t answer,” Phillips told CNN on Thursday. “I’ve been home for a week and am looking for another job.”
Even if CDK solves the problem, Phillips says he fears the possibility of another cyberattack.
“I feel like the writing is on the wall. If hackers can break into a system and take my job away, I think that’s probably not the right job right now,” he said. “There’s no security.”
Phillips was not the only one to express his frustration.
“When you do the math, that’s an awful lot to have control over,” Irvin said of CDK. “It’s ridiculous.”
Irvin said he noticed something was wrong with the CDK software he relied on to serve prospective customers when a couple came into his dealership early last week interested in purchasing a new Ford Bronco Sport.
“I couldn’t do anything I normally do,” Irvin said. “I was completely immobile and could only do very simple things.”
Irvin also said that without CDK’s data management system, his dealership would have no way to accurately track commission payments.
“You have to sell something,” Irvin said. “Otherwise you go home and have nothing to eat.”
Even without access to the software, business continued, albeit slowly.
Irvin said it ended up taking a week for the couple who bought their Ford Bronco Sport to receive the bill of sale proving ownership of the new car. All documents had to be filled out by hand.
And after Phillips spent more than a week at home, his boss texted him to come back to work on Friday. They wanted to track some parts deliveries and manually verify pickups.
“I’m surprised they didn’t think of this method sooner!” Phillips wrote in an email. “This will be a new adventure.”
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